Ripples From a Water Drop
by TheCookieMonster77
Summary: One more shot. One more question. One more minute. And the entire universe changes. AU. Title image off the internet.
1. One More Shot

Title: Ripples From a Water Drop

Summary: One more shot. One more question. One more minute. And the entire universe changes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.**

AN: This is an AU (obviously). Changes start off about two-thirds or so through _Star Trek: Into Darkness_ and go from there.

Dedication: This story's all for the wonderful and amazing Silver Bullet-Wolf25. If not for her constant encouragement, this story never would've grown past a flitting thought in my head. I just hope it lives up to expectations.

* * *

Spock took a deep breath before entering boarding the bridge. He didn't like this at all. Of course the Captain would think to align himself with the prisoner. Definitely logical - if you were Captain Kirk, that is.

Spock went in a sat down in the captain's chair, brooding over the situation. Any minute the USS _Vengeance_ was going to get her power back and they were sitting ducks. Call him pessimistic, but the situation wasn't showing him any silver linings.

If Spock were more human, he would be ripping his hair out right now. Probably a good thing he isn't (he's rather fond of his bangs), but even with his ability to suppress his emotions and clear his head, he couldn't think of anything to brighten the current mess.

In Spock's opinion, it doesn't matter how good Khan is, it's illogical to align themselves with him. That man had declared a one man war against Starfleet (and might have even succeeded had they not found his crew) just to get revenge on the Admiral that was currently sitting in the ship across from them. In his (highly logical) mind, they were just helping Khan. If only he had some way to trust him…

Spock's started when the thought hit him. Why didn't he think of that before?

Spock stood up and rushed over to Nyota's station. "Lieutenant, from our current position, is it possible to establish contact with New Vulcan."

"Not a chance."

Spock frowned down at Nyota. "Are you sure."

"Yes."

"It's vital."

Nyota shot him an exasperated look. "I'm sorry Spock, I really am. But it's not happening. I can get in contact with the _Vengeance_ just fine because it's pretty close. However, if I can't even get a hold of anyone on Earth to let them know what's going on, there's no chance of me being able to get in touch with Mr. Spock on New Vulcan."

Spock raised his eyebrows at her, surprised she had figured out his plan so quickly. Then again, it is the logical plan.

She smiled gently. "I don't like this situation either. We've both seen what Khan can do on his own and I don't want to risk him turning on our Captain or Mr. Scott, but we're just going to have to trust the Captain on this one. You heard how the Admiral and Mr. Scott sounded on the comms earlier."

Spock frowned. Yes, there was some static and they didn't quite sound right, but that didn't mean no contact. "I am aware they sounded odd, but-"

"But nothing." Nyota frowned at him. "They didn't just sound odd. Seeing as they sounded staticy and faint, I'm pretty sure we can only communicate with people within thirty meters. I think the last shot hit nearby the ship's antennas, plus almost all of the ship's power is being used for other systems. If I diverted any of the ships power to the comm units, who knows what system might shut down as a result. We can't afford that."

"You said a system _might_ shut down. If I over see it, we can shut down an unnecessary system or take small amounts of power from several. That would work."

Nyota was still shaking her head. "Didn't you hear me? That last shot knocked out most - if not all - of our comm. units. For communications of New Vulcan's distance, we'd need extremely precise and finely tuned antennas, which aren't available if almost all of our comm. units are messed up. Even if we managed to get the necessary amount of power, there's a good chance we still wouldn't be able to get in touch with New Vulcan."

"However, you did say chance…"

Spock trailed off when Nyota gave him a dirty look. One that said he'd incur some hellish wrath if he pursued the topic. Which was especially infuriating seeing as he was right back where he started from. Spock let out a small hiss of frustration before suppressing his emotions and nodding. She was right. And he had just admonished the Captain for his unchecked emotions. "So, we missed the opportunity by one shot."

"Yeah." Nyota gave his arm a small squeeze. "I'm just as worried as you are."

Worried? No, he was in perfect control of his emotions. Sort of.

"We just have to trust the Captain. I don't like it any more than you, but what else can we do?"

Spock absentmindedly nodded at her words. He had already come to the same conclusion, but he didn't like it. He sighed and pushed it out of his mind. There were more important things to worry about. He went over to the Captain's chair and sat down again, shoulders sagging slightly.

"Mr. Sulu, what is the status of the other ship?"

He really didn't like where this was going at all.

* * *

Spock sat stewing in the Captain's chair, anxiously waiting with the rest of the bridge for some kind of contact from the boarding party. They couldn't open any communications with them due to the ability of the _Vengeance_ to track any radio signals. As a result, they were all left in a nervous silence.

Mr. Sulu hoarsely cleared his throat. "Commander, the _Vengeance_'s power is almost back on line."

Spock let out a deep sigh, tramping down any nervous feelings he was getting. He silently thanked his Vulcan ancestors for that gift. He wouldn't be able to think now otherwise.

"We'll wait just a bit longer to warn the rest of the crew." Spock couldn't explain his logic behind that, but it felt right. And he was too frazzled to bother with logic for _that_ right then.

"But Commander, what about Khan's crew?"

Spock frowned. He really couldn't care less about that crew right then. But, the Captain did promise their safety… "Where are they currently being held?"

Bones perked up at that. "They are still in the weapons bay. They held up pretty well through the fire."

Spock nodded. "Are they in the weapon chambers?"

Bones looked horrified. "Good God man, you're not saying that we fire the torpedoes!"

"No, I am simply saying that that is the safest place for them."

"I don't think the Captain would agree with that," Bones snorted.

"All weapons are designed to specifically fit in the weapon chambers, which will prevent most turbulence from affecting them. Also, due to the highly reactive nature of the warp core, all weapon chambers are designed to prevent minimal damage to any weapons stored inside them. Because of this, the torpedoes will not be at risk to any external damaging forces and they will then be out of the way for our crew." Spock turned to Nyota. "Gather the necessary personnel and get the torpedoes into the weapons chambers. We can't risk any explosions on the _Enterprise_."

"Yes Sir."

"Sir."

Spock sighed before turning to Bones. "Yes, Dr. McCoy?"

"Am I the only one getting a bad feeling about putting people into weapon chambers?"

Spock frowned at the man. "Doctor, as a man of science, you shouldn't be worrying about shivers racing up and down your spine."

"Still doesn't change what my gut's saying," Bones snorted.

"Doctor, no matter what your gut says, the most logical thing to do is load the torpedoes into the weapon chambers. Now, I suggest you report to the med bay, where you are needed."

Bones shrugged and headed out. "All I'm saying is that I hope you don't regret it."

"Me as well, Doctor. Me as well."

* * *

Before there are too many questions, this story really is about Khan. However, this chapter worked much better from Spock's point of view and any chapter that works better from some other character's point of view will be written from that character's perspective. I figured readers would prefer this over a bunch of dialogue from the movie. Besides, important stuff happens on the bridge. And don't worry, the other chapters will be longer than this.


	2. One More Question

Name: Ripples From a Water Drop

Summary: One more shot. One more question. One more minute. And the entire universe changes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.**

AN: Once again, this whole story's dedicated to Silver Bullet-Wolf25. And, I'm going to cheat and say the story's my gift to her, and this chapter's just the latest addition to it.

* * *

Khan paused to catch his breath after they finally slid to a halt. Their little jaunt through space was extreme and risky, even by his standards.

Khan ignored most of the other two men's interactions. The introduction was redundant anyways. Mr. Spock and Kirk had screamed the guy's name enough in the past ten seconds for Khan to remember the name for a lifetime.

Khan glanced over his shoulders and figured the other two had caught their breath. "They'll know we're here. I know the best way to the bridge."

Khan reached up and yanked off his helmet, quickly stripping out of the rest of the suit. He pulled the small pack off the suit and passed it over to Mr. Scott. He still has trouble getting the gun pieces to attach properly. He took the one offered to him and weighed it in his hand.

"It's locked to stun."

Khan looked over to Kirk who was watching him warily. Khan had to admire his nobleness, even if completely foolish. "Theirs won't be."

Kirk just shrugged. "Try not to get shot."

_I wasn't worried about me_. Khan shook the thought off. It wasn't his problem if Kirk wanted to take unnecessary risks. He nodded his head off to the side and started running, briefly pausing to let the other two catch up.

"Wait, wait, wait. You're going the wrong way."

Khan suppressed his irritation and kept running. He wasn't really in the mood for people to question his motivations. "I designed this ship. I know where I'm going."

He felt someone pull on his arm and he turned to see Mr. Scott pointing in a different direction. Mr. Scott rolled his eyes. "The turbo lifts are _that_ way."

"So?" Khan turned back around and started running again. "We're not taking them."

He didn't turn around at Mr. Scott's exasperated sigh. "They're going to have full power and we're walking?"

Khan didn't think as he rattled off the tactical reasons while simultaneously hacking into one of the ship's mainframe computers. "The turbo lifts are easily tracked and Marcus would have us in a cage." Khan frowned at the screen. Marcus had changed some of the programing. "This path runs adjacent to the engine room." This was wrong. Really wrong. Khan let out a quiet hiss. Thanks to Marcus's changes, it was going to take them a bit longer to get to the bridge than he had anticipated earlier. "They know they won't be able to use their weapons here without destabilizing the warp core, which gives us the advantage."

Khan ignored the other two and hurried down the hall. He didn't want to risk the _Enterprise_ any more than they did. His family was still on board.

"I don't mean to tempt fate here, but where is everybody?"

Khan couldn't help but be proud of his work. He had spent a lot of time working on these particular features. "The ship is designed to be flown by minimal crew, one if necessary." After all, it was his original getaway car.

Khan nearly yelped in surprise when the man swung around the corner and socked him in the jaw. There wasn't time for this! He growled and easily dispatched the man. As more and more men trickled in, he just lost himself in the fight and focused on kicking, punching and ducking.

Khan threw one of the enemies off him and turned to make sure Kirk and Mr. Scott were alright. They seemed to be handling it well on their own, but it always helped to have an extra hand.

Something flashed in the corner of his eye. Khan ducked on instinct, feeling the man's fist swish through empty air, right where his head just was. He quickly jabbed the man's stomach, prompting a harsh 'oomph' from his victim. He ducked around the man and swiftly kicked another approaching guard in the gut. Another two were quickly approaching from down the hall, so Khan threw the first man into the second guard so that they slammed against the wall. Once seeing that those two were knocked out, Khan turned to face the last guards he could see.

The first approaching one was big and burly with an odd scar rippling on one cheek down to his neck. The second was an oddly scrawny man who was rather plain otherwise. Khan didn't have time to process the odd combination because the burly one aimed a nasty looking right hook at him. Khan swerved out of the way and flinched when the man's fist caused a good dent in the wall behind him. Logically, Khan knew that it was just a thin sheet of metal, something that even the Captain could dent if he put his mind to it. However, in the heat of battle, the sight threw him off enough for the burly man to place a good kick in his chest. He hissed as he stumbled back a few steps, right into the scrawny one. Khan felt bony fingers dig into his chin and suddenly, he was flying further down the hall.

Khan landed with a grunt, but he didn't have time to process just what had happened as the burly one charged down the hall. Khan scrambled out of the way but was punched by the scrawny one who had apparently approached while burly one had distracted him. Khan kicked the scrawny one back and ducked as the burly one tried to punch him from behind. Khan rolled between the man's wide stance and quickly skipped back a few steps into another narrow hall.

He could see now the good combo the two made (one to distract while the other sneaked up) and how long they had been partners (a couple of years judging by the footwork but not too long due to the separate attacks). He narrowed his eyes as his brain started analyzing every detail (burly one favors left knee, scrawny one has a weak right wrist), anticipating their next attack (narrow corridor forces them to approach one on one - one will distract while the other gets in a few hits) and plan accordingly (get rid of burly one and then quickly dispose of scrawny). Khan let his rage take over, making his vision crystal clear and everything take on a red tinge.

Khan charged forward (throw enemies off balance) and jumped on to the burly one. He quickly grabbed the sides of the man's face and effortlessly snapped the man's neck. He didn't like to kill, but there was no way for him to be able to take on them both. He knew he wasn't getting any back up from Mr. Scott or the Captain (their steps were heading the wrong way) but hopefully killing one meant that he only had to knock out the scrawny one.

Khan fell with the burly man and landed in a crouch above him. He looked up to see the scrawny man but was met with a foot instead. Khan sputtered as he fell back. His head suddenly snapped to the side and he soon let out another hiss when he felt a blow to his stomach. Khan saw another foot come towards him so he rolled away.

Khan warily stood up and regarded the scrawny man. He was getting old if he was making mistakes like underestimating his opponent. The bastard may not be terribly strong, but he was fast. Khan didn't even _see_ the fist that had struck him in the head until it was too late. Khan scowled. The man may have had the upper hand when Khan wasn't paying attention, but now there was no way he was escaping.

The scrawny man must have felt something shift in Khan, because he quickly turned on his heel and ran. Khan growled and raced after him, pushing himself as fast as he dared in the twisting corridors. He soon caught up with the man (sprinter, only fast on straight parts) and grabbed the man's weak wrist and twisted. The man let out a sharp yelp of pain but Khan simple grabbed the back of the man's neck and slammed him into the wall. Khan let the man crumple to the ground (that was going to be one nasty headache).

Khan quickly headed back to where he first got separated from Kirk and Mr. Scott and headed towards where he last heard the steps go by. He frowned when he came into one of the more complicated parts of the ship. It was pretty easy to find the two (thank goodness for neat rows) but walking down each of the aisles was time consuming and that was one commodity they didn't have enough of. And of course, Kirk and Mr. Scott were in some of the last rows he checks.

"This way," he called before quickly turning and heading back to the right hallway to get them to the bridge. He hoped they followed soon because they were running out of time fast.

"Hey wait!"

Khan flinched at Kirk's shout. Didn't the idiot realize they were trying to _sneak_ around the ship?

Khan kept walking (seriously, did these people even know what a time table was?) but Kirk yanked him to a stop.

"No, stop."

Khan frowned. Why was Kirk glaring at him?

The Captain's eyes were like to ice chips. "Where were you just now? We can't have you going off to do your own vendettas, not while we have a job to do. We're kind of on a time table right now, in case you haven't noticed."

Khan couldn't help snorting. "I'm aware, which is why we really need to get moving." Khan turned to go but Kirk grabbed his collar, yanking him back around while choking him at the same time.

"What were you doing?"

Khan returned Kirk's glare with one of his own. "Fighting the guards."

"So were we. Where were you after that?"

"Looking for you two."

Kirk glared at him and raised his gun. "Stop avoiding the question. After we defeated our lot, we looked for you but you were gone. Where did you go?"

"Would you really shoot me?" Khan scoffed. "And before you commit an act of utter stupidity, I wasn't avoiding the question. After I knocked out the first two guards we had seen, I was going to help you two but a new pair attacked me. I had underestimated them so defeating the two took longer than I had anticipated, but afterwards I went looking for you two in this mess of the engines. So, Captain, put down your stupid gun and follow me. As you had so astutely pointed out earlier, we're a bit short on time." Khan scowled at the man one more time and turned to run back down the hall. This time, Kirk didn't stop him.

"Of course you're eager for this, what the hell was I thinking."

Khan stiffened and turned to face Kirk. "What?"

Kirk blinked, looking like a deer in the headlights. Guess he didn't realize just how sharp Khan's ears are. He sputtered a bit and tried to wave Khan off.

"No." Khan took a step forward, eyes narrowing. His already grim face twisted into a snarl. "What did you say?"

Mr. Scott stepped in front of Kirk, attempting to ward the Captain from Khan's glare (he failed). "I don't mean to interrupt, but aren't we short on time?" Mr. Scott flinched when the glare shifted from the Captain to him.

"Yes. However, I have a problem with the blood-thirsty persona he's," Khan said with a rough jerk of his head towards Kirk, "given me."

Kirk snorted. "Just a persona?"

Khan growled. "Yes."

Kirk laughed hollowly. "Really then? Care to explain creating a war if you're a pacifist then?"

"I never said I was a pacifist." Khan took a deep breath trying to tramp down his rage. He discretely fidgeted and his mental clock kept ticking down. They _really_ should be going right now. But Kirk's assumption of his character surprisingly bothered him a lot more than it should. However, Khan wasn't looking into _that_ until he absolutely had to. Khan took another deep breath and slid his indifferent mask on. Right now was not a good time to have Kirk questioning his every move. "I couldn't give a damn about Starfleet." Khan mentally awarded himself for keeping his voice that level. "You guys can live or die, I'm not particularly hung up on it one way or another. However, I hate Marcus with every fiber of my being. He wanted a war that he wasn't prepared for, so it was simple starting something that would destroy him. Besides, war was just the back-up plan. If I had achieved my original plan, Marcus would have died in that conference room. Starfleet was collateral damage, something I _had_ tried to minimize."

"Collateral damage? _Collateral damage_? Those were innocent people!"

"Please, _Captain_, save me the dramatics. To get to anyone in a high enough position like Marcus, there will always be subordinates in the way. And since you didn't notice the first time, I blew up the Archive in London when there were the fewest number of workers there and in the conference, I aimed exclusively for Marcus. He's just cruel enough to throw others in the way. I had _nothing_ left but my revenge on Marcus. You're lucky I was _kind_ enough to minimize the damage. I don't care for unnecessary bloodshed."

Kirk was still purple from rage. "Yeah right. You started a _war_."

"As a last resort." Khan sneered at Kirk as he towered over the other man. "Maybe one day if you ever lose your crew, you'll understand the desperation I faced. In my eyes, revenge was literally all I had left. It's poisonous and hollowing. I'd like to see how _you_ would hold up under it."

Khan turned and quickly checked one of the maintenance computers. "We've wasted enough time here. Let's go. And come _quickly_. We don't have much time left before full power, and I don't want my crew blown up."

Khan started running, leaving the other two to trail behind him.

* * *

"When we get to the bridge, drop him."

Scotty turned to Kirk in shock at the Captain's quiet order. "What? But he's helping us."

"I'm pretty sure we're helping him."

Scotty snorted. "What, stop Marcus? No, I'm pretty sure we're all working towards a similar goal."

Kirk's nostrils flared and his eyes grew wide at the accusation. "We're not here for revenge!"

"Really?" Scotty turned to Kirk with raised eyebrows. "You're here for purely business reasons? Just to bring a criminal to justice? Besides, I'm pretty sure Khan's more interested in saving his crew, rather than killing the man. I'd say you two even have identical motives."

Kirk opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut. He shifted guiltily, not wanting to admit that Scotty was brought up some good points. Besides, Khan proved himself to be valuable enough so far and Kirk would rather take him back to earth peacefully rather than in handcuffs. He's pretty sure Khan could just break the handcuffs if he wanted to anyways. But, to leave a loose end around like that…

"Fine."

Scotty just raised his eyebrows.

"Fine, leave him be." Kirk ran an agitated hand through his hair. "Just...keep an eye on him. Don't let him do anything stupid."

"That was already the plan, Captain."

Kirk scowled at Scotty's smug look and followed him as they raced to catch up with Khan. He was really starting to question his gut instincts.

And that was never a good sign.


	3. One More Minute

Name: Ripples From a Water Drop

Summary: One more shot. One more question. One more minute. And the entire universe changes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.**

AN: So, I just wanted to clear something up. In the scene where Khan was fighting the two guards, some people thought Khan was being manhandled or were surprised at how long the two lasted. I tried to convey that if Khan was underestimating his opponents and if he was a bit distracted, yes, if they were good fighters, people could get a leg up on him. He's not superman. Just genetically more capable of a lot more than most humans. Sorry if that wasn't conveyed well.

* * *

"Admiral Marcus, you're under arrest."

Khan allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction when disbelief flicked over Marcus's face. He had done it. Marcus was going down.

"You're not actually going to do this are you?"

Khan's eyes flicked towards Mr. Scott, who was looking just a surprised as he was. Marcus wasn't acting like a caged animal like they were expecting.

Kirk sighed and warily stepped closer to Marcus. "Admiral, get out of the chair."

"You better stop and think about what you're doing, Kirk," Marcus snarled. "You better think about what you did on Kronos. You made an incursion onto an enemy planet! You killed a Klingon patrol. Even-"

"What on Earth are you trying to do?" Khan demanded with raised eyebrows. "_Guilt_ him because he _saved_ 73 lives and tried to _prevent_ a war on an excursion into enemy territory that _you_ assigned him? Are you stupid?"

Kirk snorted. "I'm pretty sure he's already proved that he is." Kirk's eyes flicked to Carol. "Sorry."

"What do you possibly think you're accomplishing _Admiral_?" Khan mocked. "The only one who's going down in this scenario is you."

"And you!" Marcus shouted. "You will go down with me and you'll fall even further! You don't honestly think Kirk will prevent you from going to jail or worse, do you? You killed his Captain, a man who was one of his closest friends. He's not going to save _you_."

Khan's eyebrows flew up his forehead. "You're not going to persuade me to betray him with that ridiculous argument. I will face whatever justice is given to me by Starfleet, as per my alignment with him. I have no trouble facing just punishment because I know that at least with _him_ my family will be safe and protected."

Marcus's nostrils flared as his eyes widened with disbelief. "_You_ would turn yourself in?"

Khan smiled and his eyes glittered with sadistic amusement. "And doesn't that scare you?"

Kirk cocked his gun to get Marcus's attention back. "Admiral, get out of the chair."

Marcus's eyes frantically darted around the room, his face finally showing the desperation Khan so wanted to see. "War is coming. And who is going to lead us? _You_? If I'm not in charge, our entire way of life is decimated!"

Khan narrowed his eyes at Marcus. "Says the fool who was taken down by a crippled ship and three men. Not to mention how you don't know shit about warfare but still want a war. Trust me; they can't appoint anyone who would do a worse job than you."

Marcus knuckles were white from the grip he had on his chair. He leaned forward and snarled, "If you want me off this ship, you better kill me."

"I'm not going to kill you, sir," Kirk calmly said, ignoring Khan's snort of disbelief. "But I could stun your ass and drag you out of that chair. I'd rather not do that in front of your daughter." Kirk eyes flicked from Marcus to Carol. "You alright?"

"Yes, Captain."

All three of the men politely ignored her watery eyes.

"You would let them kill your father?"

"Shut up," Kirk snarled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Four pairs of eyes shifted to Carol. A tear streamed down her face. "You're not my father. I said it before, and I'll say it again. The man who raised me never would have done any of this. You are not my father."

Khan's eyes flicked back to Marcus, taking some perverse pleasure in his devastated visage. He watched as the devastation suddenly became wild desperation. "Watch out!"

Marcus suddenly lunged forward, narrowly ducking under Kirk's startled shot. He shoved Kirk out of the way and slammed his hand on the control panel.

A pleasant female voice, one hilariously out of place, called out, "Autopilot offline."

The five alert passengers yelped as the Vengeance suddenly pitched forward, throwing them all away from Marcus. Khan hissed as he flipped over the panel behind him, landing with a nasty _crack_ on the lower walkway. He had just gotten to his knees when he was abruptly thrown back, his back slamming into the panel he had just flipped over.

Khan struggled to his feet (wisely holding on to the panel for balance this time) and saw Kirk struggling to get the controls away from Marcus. Khan jumped over the panel and ran towards the two. He slipped when the Vengeance tipped to the side, but he managed to grab the main control panel before falling. He tried to punch Marcus in the nose, but missed when the Vengeance tipped to the other side. However, he did manage to connect enough so that Marcus jumped away from the controls, allowing Kirk to stabilize the ship.

Kirk's eyes met Khan's. "Thanks."

"Captain!"

Kirk and Khan whipped around at Carol's agitated shriek. They saw her one tier down, pointing at something to their left. They turned to see Marcus jabbing at something with wide eyes. Khan's eyes widened and he jumped over the panel to join Kirk on the other side. He didn't waste time, running at Marcus while shouting, "Those are the weapon controls!"

Marcus snarled and his face twisted into a desperate grimace. "I told you, if you want me off this ship, you better kill me." He slammed his hand down on a button, and the other four flinched as they heard the _Vengeance_'s gun start firing at the _Enterprise_ again.

Khan shoved Marcus away from the controls, accidentally throwing him over Mr. Scott's (hastily ducked) head and into a wall three meters away. Marcus hit the wall with a dull thud and crumpled to the ground. They were finally able to relax again as the gun went offline again.

The three _Enterprise_ crew members and Khan stood panting. "Is the _Enterprise_ okay?" Mr. Scott asked.

"I think so," Kirk panted. "Well, no, actually, she's not alright, but I don't think she's going to blow up or fall out of the sky on us."

"You don't _think_ the Enterprise will blow up?" Mr. Scott demanded. "I've been off the ship for _one_ bloody day, and this is what happens?"

"Computer, scan the USS _Enterprise_," Khan said, hoping the two would stop their bickering.

"Commencing scans now," the computer's voice said pleasantly, "USS _Enterprise _shields offline."

"Shields offline?" Kirk frowned. "Those last couple of shots must have knocked them down."

Marcus groaned behind them. The four of them glanced at him.

"What are we going to do with him?" Carol asked.

They all watched as Marcus weakly groaned and fidgeted on the floor. Kirk turned to Khan with raised eyebrows. "You could've just stunned the man with a gun instead of your fists you know."

"I didn't _mean_ to hit him that hard!" Khan protested. "I was pan-"

An incoming hail cut Khan off. "Captain, get out of there now!" Spock's yelled.

Khan nearly started in surprise. He _never_ heard the first officer sound anything less than calm.

It looked like Kirk felt the same way. "What?"

"Jim, for the love of god, find some way to get out of there now! The-"

The ship's computer voice cut Dr. McCoy off. "Unidentified missiles incoming. Expected hit in thirty seconds."

"What?" Kirk whirled around to face Khan. "What does this bloody ship mean by _missiles_?"

"Captain!"

Khan and Kirk turned to see Carol pointing out the window with a horrified look on her face. They followed her finger to see several glowing missiles coming their way.

"Shit!"

"Twenty seconds until impact."

Khan raced over to the main control panel, hastily flicking switches and pressing buttons (why did he make this ship so bloody complicated again?) to beam them out.

"Ten seconds until impact."

Khan got the computer to lock onto the four of them and immediately started to beam them out. He heard a faint groan behind him and turned to see Marcus blinking awake, staring at him with absolute horror. Khan allowed himself a brief smirk of satisfaction before the transporting device's glow cut off his vision.

* * *

Khan took a hasty step back and tried to make sure he wouldn't double over from the slight nausea beaming out of places always gave him. It wouldn't do to show them his weaknesses.

Khan took a deep breath before looking around the console room, wondering why it was so quiet. He didn't think they'd be cheering or anything, but he did think they'd be relaxed and chatting or something. Khan turned to ask Kirk what was going on, but he froze when he saw Spock's face. His eyes were opened as wide as they could go and his breath coming in rapid, short pants. Khan frowned as he looked around, wondering just _what_ could have happened. How off-centered does a Vulcan have to be to show this much horror?

"Khan…" Spock gulped. He pointed out the window with a shaky finger. "We only had seventy-two missiles on board."

"What?"

Spock shuddered. "They-they stayed in their missile compartments. We...I thought they would have been safer there."

Khan's eyes widened in comprehension and he whirled around, just in time to see all seventy-two people he cared about most crash into the_ Vengeance_, exploding with frightening force.

Khan's eyes widened, he couldn't quite breathe, and the explosion kept replaying itself over and over in his head. He fell to his knees, shaking and trembling, and only barely catching himself on his hands before he collapsed completely. Khan thought he heard Spock attempting to explain, but he couldn't hear him over the ringing in his ears. The scene continued replaying itself over and over in his head. It just wouldn't stop. Khan tried squeezing his eyes shut, trying to block out the never-ending explosion, but it just wouldn't stop. Khan finally broke and screamed, all of his heart-ache drowning out any other sound.

But the scene played on.


	4. Beginning Ripples

Name: Ripples From a Water Drop

Summary: One more shot. One more question. One more minute. And the entire universe changes.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek.**

AN: Sorry for the wait. First it was graduation and relative visits, and then vacation where Ms. Ninny (a.k.a. me) forgot her laptop, which is only minorly (*coughsarcasmcough*) important if she wants to update a story. Then, when I got back, I realized I hated the original draft of this chapter and spent the last week rewriting it. Jeez, I'm such a noob.

A huge thank you to Silver Bullet-Wolf25 for putting up with my rants and distractions. Like always, this is devoted to you.

* * *

Kirk whirled on Spock, shouting over Khan's screams. "What the hell Spock!"

Spock just stared at Khan in horror and collapsed back into the captain's chair. "They were safe…"

"Obviously not," Kirk snarled. "I promised to keep his crew safe!" Kirk slammed his palms on the captain's chair's armrests, looming over the half-Vulcan. "Are you really such a cold-hearted bastard to sentence seventy-two people to death?"

"Captain!"

Kirk looked over to see Uhura breathing heavily and tears streaming down her face. "Please, it's not his fault."

Kirk jumped when a loud _crack_ echoed behind him. He turned to see Khan, still kneeling and gasping. He looked at the ground beneath Khan and gulped when he saw the deep fissure under Khan's white-knuckled fist. "And just how is the fact that all _seventy-two_ people I care about more than _anything_ in this universe are now _dead_ not his fault?"

Spock flinched at Khan's wild-eyed face and closed his eyes. "The weapon compartments were the safest place on board for them. Even if Marcus fired on them, the compartments would have to take on a lot of damage before the actual torpedoes would be harmed. And in the case that they were damaged, the rest of us would be dead or close to it."

"That doesn't explain why they were fired on the _Vengeance_."

Spock gulped at Khan's snarl and held up his hands in an attempt to placate Khan. "I never ordered them to be fired."

Khan snarled and lunged forward, snaking his hand out to grasp Spock's throat with an iron grip. "Then why are they dead?"

"Khan, stop. It wasn't the Commander's fault."

Khan whirled around to face whoever had spoken, still clenching Spock's throat. Mr. Sulu flinched at Khan's wild look, gulped and tried to explain. "After the _Vengeance_ fired on us, it shot the hull several times in the same area. The huge concentration of hits in one area must have made the computer think the _Enterprise_ was damaged beyond repair, because a countdown started and we couldn't stop it, no matter what we tried. A couple of us just traced the signal back, and it looks like a part of the ship's emergency protocol was rewritten a day or two ago. It made it so that if there was an emergency where the ship took on a lot of damage, the _Enterprise_ would fire all weapons at the largest object nearby."

"What?" Khan turned to see a shell-shocked Kirk, releasing Spock in his confusion. Spock bent over, gasping, but Khan didn't pay any attention as he focused on Kirk's outraged figure. "Why the fuck is there something like _that_ on _my_ ship?"

"My best guess is that Admiral Marcus anticipated your change of plans and set up a back-up plan."

Kirk turned to Spock, who was rubbing his sore throat, in confusion. "Why would he anticipate something like that?"

Spock levelled a deadpan stare at Kirk. "Captain, you are known for breaking rules."

"I'm not that bad!"

"Yes, you are, but that's not the point." Khan glared at Spock and Kirk, the wild desperation still blazing in his eyes. "You mean to tell me that _all _of this was because you were too stupid to see a new command that would cause devastating amounts of destruction?"

"We never would have thought to check for something like that. Not on this ship." Spock narrowed his eyes at Khan's disbelieving snort. "Believe what you will, but I am a peaceful man and would never kill someone, much less seventy-two, in cold-blood. And seeing as you are not attacking me, I trust that you realize this as well."

Khan just snarled and looked out the window. Bits of the explosion were still dissipating, painting the view in horrifyingly beautiful red, orange, and yellow bursts on the dark background. Khan squeezed his fists even tighter, his nails breaking skin.

Spock took another step towards Khan, disregarding Kirk's attempt to hold him back. "I know you are upset, and I know how consuming that feeling can be. But we are not your enemy. Admiral Marcus is the one to blame for all of this, but he is dead and none of us can do anything about it but grieve and move on."

Khan growled and snapped his hand out to choke Spock. "_Nothing else_?"

"Khan stop." Kirk reached up and grabbed his shoulder. "You said you didn't care for unnecessary bloodshed. Don't turn into Marcus."

Khan froze, his hand relaxing enough for Spock to yank himself out of the man's grip and he stepped away, rubbing his sore throat and grimacing. "Thank you, Captain."

"Spock, shut up," Bones said, stepping forward to grab Kirk's and Khan's arms. "I need to give both of you a check-up. Scotty and Carol, you too." Bones started moving forward and gently tugged along the two larger men, who followed limply. He looked over his shoulder at Carol's and Scotty's frozen figures and snapped, "Well, come on!"

As Carol and Scotty quickly snapped to attention and ran out after him, Spock collapsed back in the captain's chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose and made a mental note to check up on the Captain later. But first, there were more pressing matters to take care of. "Mr. Sulu, a full-body ship report please."

* * *

"Barton, can you get me a report on what the status of the _Enterprise _is currently is?"

Bones smacked the back of Kirk's head as he walked by. "Jim! You're in here for medical purposes. Your vitals are way off, so shut up and stay still until I'm done. And stop ordering my nurses around."

Kirk just rolled his eyes. "Bones, this is important."

"And your health isn't?"

"Compared to making sure we'll all be fine? No, it's not." Kirk caught Bones's wrist before he could smack him again and looked at Barton. "Status report?"

"No, Barton get back to work and ignore him." Bones yanked his wrist out of Kirk's grasp and glowered down at him. "My nurses don't do things like get status reports, you know that. Besides, Spock's taking care of it as we speak. Trust your first mate for God's sake!"

Kirk heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Bones! I just need to make sure we'll be sa-"

"Doctor!"

"What?"

"Um." The male nurse shifted on his feet nervously while glancing over his shoulder. "Harri-sorry, Khan's not letting any of us check his vitals."

Bones rubbed his forehead, mumbling about stubborn patients under his breath. Both he and Kirk turned to see Khan sitting on one of the tables, arms folded and eyes closed, only moving to push the occasional nurse away from him.

Bones walked over to Khan and started checking the man's vitals himself, ignoring Khan's attempts to make him go away.

"Khan, I'd just sit there and deal with it. Bones isn't going to stop and fighting only makes it last longer."

Bones paused to shoot Kirk an irritated look. "Jim, you shouldn't be walking around right now. Go and sit like a good patient for once."

Kirk ignored him. "Khan," he said softly, "you don't have to put on a mask. You're obviously upset and there's no need to pretend otherwise. None of us are going to judge you."

"I don't care if any of you judge me or not."

Kirk just cocked his head to the side. "Then why bottle up your emotions? It's not healthy."

Khan's eyes finally opened, a small snarl twisting his face as he batted Bones away. "Who gives a damn about my health? And Doctor, you can stop bothering. Nothing happened on that ship that I won't heal from naturally."

Kirk pursued his lips. "Fine, we'll stop bothering you with the nurses." Kirk waved off Bones's protests and narrowed his eyes at Khan. "However, you will have to stand trial and the officers will want it done and over with as soon as possible. They'd prefer to do the trial with you in fit condition."

"Why? So they can make sure their dead are healthy?"

Kirk frowned, lips pursued. "What?"

Khan raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "Starfleet has the death penalty, doesn't it? I fired on a room full of Starfleet Admirals and started a war. That is a one way ticket to the gallows, no matter which way you slice it."

Kirk blinked in surprise. He realized that the surprise was mostly unfounded, but he had forgotten about that regulation in all of the excitement. "And you're just going to walk to them?"

Khan shrugged. He closed his eyes and returned to his original position. "Does it matter? I did what I did and knew that I would most likely die. It's not like I have any reason to live."

"But you're a survivor…"

Khan snorted. "All that means is that you outlive every reason worth living."

Kirk flinched. He blinked and opened his mouth a couple of times, but Khan ignored him.

"Jim?"

Kirk turned to see Bones staring at him expectantly. Kirk shook his head and started to walk out, ignoring Bones's protests. "I need some air."

* * *

Spock found the Captain brooding right outside the bridge elevator, leaning against a beam with his arms crossed. The frigid scowl on his face was doing an excellent job of scaring off the rest of the crew. And with good reason, Spock mused. Whenever Kirk gets like this he always does something stupid.

Kirk cut him off before Spock could say anything. "I can't turn him in."

Spock blinked in surprise and tried to keep his exasperation from showing. "What?"

"I'm not turning him in."

Spock sighed, resisting the urge to smack his Captain. "I'm going to assume this is all because you hit your head especially hard and go along with the hypothetical. Why would we not turn a dangerous war criminal in?"

"He saved our lives, Spock."

"That does not erase any of his past actions, or alleviate what his punishment will be. He attacked a council room of Starfleet Admirals and tried to start a war."

Kirk slammed his hand against the wall behind him and hissed in frustration. "But he's lost _everything_ because he tried to _help_ us."

"I see some major flaws in that argument, Captain."

"Of course you do," Kirk said while rolling his eyes.

"For one thing, Khan only helped us when he would benefit from it, causing the motives to be purely selfish and not out of the good of his heart. For another, Khan did not lose his family _because_ he helped us; he lost it because Admiral Marcus was much slyer than we ever gave him credit for." Spock frowned when it didn't look like any of that logic was persuading Kirk. "And Captain, you seem to be forgetting that Khan started a war because he _thought_ he had lost everything. Now that he actually _has_ lost everything, what do you think he will do?"

"Spock." Kirk looked at him with weary eyes, his entire posture slumping like it was carrying the weight of the world. "You saw him. You saw what happened when he realized his entire crew was dead. Last time he had his revenge to keep him going, and now he has nothing. I just _can't_ turn in someone like that."

"It is your responsibility to turn him in."

Kirk sighed and ran his hands through his hair, tugging occasionally. "But Spock, don't you get it? I _can't._"

Spock sighed. "Fine, I will humor you. Why not?"

"When we captured him from Kronos, he wasn't _really_ a prisoner. He didn't walk like a man going to the gallows; he walked with purpose and pride. He never let anything pull his head down." Kirk slammed the back of his head against the wall with a dull _thump_. "But now...he's just this...this shell. He acts like he's already dead, like a corpse that's just moving when it's told to. I've seen a man do that before, and it...it physically _hurts_ to see a man go from such pride to complete defeat. I just can't turn someone like that in."

Spock finally gave in and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You and your heroics."

"What?" "So what Captain?" Spock frowned at Kirk. "You can't turn him in. And then what? You'd just let a man like him walk free?"

"No." Kirk hissed in frustration. "I don't know what I'll do. I just know what I won't do."

"A line that was far more dramatic when the rest of our lives were on the line." Kirk raised his head in surprise. He opened his mouth to ask if Spock (Spock!) had just made a joke, but Spock didn't let him. "Captain, don't let your heroics get in the way of your crew's safety."

"My heroics? What heroics?"

Spock just raised his eyebrows. "You've really never seen it? Yes, your bloody heroics. You always have to fix everything." Spock just rolled his eyes and walked away, sure he wasn't going to be able to persuade his Captain while he was like this. He'll just come back after Kirk was acting a bit more reasonable.

Kirk just stared after Spock in complete bewilderment. "What heroics?"

* * *

Kirk walked onto the bridge, still mulling over what Spock had said. He sighed and pushed it out of his head as he walked over to his chair. "Sulu, give me some good news."

"Captain, we finally managed to make contact with Starbase 1."

"Oh good. What are they requesting we do?"

Sulu shrugged. "Just sit tight as they prepare to tow us in. They want us to get to the transporter room when we can so that they can beam us out of here."

"We'll have everyone in medbay go first. Let everyone know." Kirk sighed and slumped further into his seat. "I can't wait for this to be over with," he mumbled.

"As do the rest of us."

Kirk looked over his shoulder at his first mate. "If you came here to tell me bad news, I really don't want to hear it."

"Really?" Spock raised an eyebrow at Kirk. "Bones was telling me about how you kept trying to figure out what condition the _Enterprise_ was in. And now you do not want to know anything pressing?"

"It was- I wasn't- just…" Kirk blew out a breath. "Never mind Spock. Okay, what's the bad news?"

"I do not have any to tell you."

"What? Then why say you do?"

Spock shrugged. "I didn't. You were the one who assumed otherwise. I was just here to inform you that Dr. McCoy wants you to be in the first group that's transported out here."

"I'm the Captain Spock. I'll be the last one."

"Dr. McCoy insists that due to your injuries you need to receive medical assistance as soon as possible."

Kirk jumped out of his chair and started walking out. "Well, I can receive it after everyone else gets off my ship."

"Captain, you should trust in the rest of your crew to handle it when you are not in the condition to do so."

Kirk glared at his first mate. "I'm fine Spock."

"I'm just telling you what the Doctor insisted and, personally, I agree with him."

Kirk rolled his eyes and stormed off the elevator. Spock followed, much to his annoyance.

"Captain," Spock said as he reached over to stop Kirk, "just trust that we'll be able to handle this situation."

Kirk shrugged him off. "I do trust you guys, I just like to be a part of the process."

Spock sighed and dropped the subject. He continued to follow Kirk to the transporter room where Bones was overseeing the chaos.

Bones looked over at Kirk and smiled. "Thanks Spock, I wasn't sure how I was going to get him here."

Kirk frowned. "I'm just here to oversee everything. I'm going with the last group."

"No, you need a medical checkup, and you need one soon. You're going Kirk."

"I'm fine Bones."

"No you aren't. Besides," Bones said as he cut off Kirk's protest. He beckoned to a nurse who started to bring Khan over. "You need to turn him in."

"I'm not turning him in."

"What?" Bones looked at Kirk in astonishment. "Have you gone nuts?"

"He doesn't want to turn in a suicidal depressed man," Spock added helpfully.

"Jim, we're talking about the man who declared war on Starfleet. You can't _not_ turn him in."

Kirk huffed and threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, what should I do?"

"Turn him in," Bones and Spock said at the same time. A nurse appeared and hesitantly tapped Bone's shoulder. "What?"

"What do you want me to do with the prisoner, sir?"

Bones looked over and saw Khan standing a few feet away. "Put him with the first group. The Captain will be joining him shortly." Bones turned back to Kirk who looked ready to protest. "You have to go with them and turn Khan in. You don't have much of a choice."

"Excuse you, I'm the Captain," Kirk protested. "I don't know why you two can't understand that I won't turn him in and-"

"And become one of the biggest traitors in Starfleet?"

Kirk frowned. "What?"

"Captain, regardless of how you feel about Khan's situation, to Starfleet he is the man who started a war. They don't know about Marcus's involvement. If you try to prevent Khan from being arrested, you will most likely be declared a traitor and possibly even share the same fate as him."

Kirk dragged his hands through his hair as he tried to think of some way out of the situation. "Why didn't you say anything about that earlier?"

Spock shrugged. "I thought the conversation earlier was because you hit your head hard or had some sort of medicine that was messing with your thought process. I didn't think that you were actually planning on letting Khan go free."

Bones snorted. "And until you get a checkup and a doctor clears you, I don't think either of us will trust your judgment on this."

"For the love of god, I'm fine!" Kirk looked over his shoulder when the crowd of people suddenly went silent to see that everyone was staring. He waved them off and dragged Spock and Bones with him into a corridor with less people. "How can you guys turn him in?"

"He attacked a bunch of Starfleet officers." Bones looked at Kirk in exasperation. "Have you forgotten that he killed Pike? Hell, before you went over to the _Vengeance_ you said you were going to do everything you could to turn him in. And now you suddenly _don't_ want to? And you wonder why we're questioning your decision?"

"I don't know!" Kirk slumped against a wall. "It's confusing. I can't tell whether I pity or hate him. I don't know what exactly my thoughts and feelings are on him or his situation, but I know that I can't turn him in to be killed after I watched his entire crew be killed in front of me."

"Captain."

The three men looked over to see a nervous looking nurse peeking around the corner. The nurse hesitantly cleared her throat. "Starbase 1 says they'll be in position to start transporting people in three minutes."

"Fine. Just make sure Khan doesn't go over without me." The nurse meekly nodded and ran off. Kirk pinched the bridge of his nose. "How can I turn him in?"

"Well you don't exactly have a choice." Bones shrugged. "I don't really like how this is happening either but you have to turn him in unless you want to become a traitor."

Kirk thumped the back of his head against the wall. "I don't like this."

"None of us said we did." Spock put a comforting hand on Kirk's shoulder. "Captain, he may not get the death penalty. Per Starfleet regulations, Khan will have to stand trial. He's innocent until proven guilty and depending on how Khan tells his story and how the judges take it, Admiral Marcus may end up with most of the blame. Khan's not going to receive the death penalty in that case."

Neither of the two men noticed Kirk's thoughtful face when Bones snorted. "Khan's suicidal right now. He hasn't acted on it yet due to shock and a bit of disbelief over his family dying, but there's still a high chance of him killing himself. He might just plead guilty and take the death penalty because it's the easiest way to kill himself."

Spock frowned. "Suicide does not really seem like something Khan would do."

"Have you known him long enough to tell what he would do?"

Spock shrugged and turned to address the male nurse who had just appeared around the corner.

"Captain, this is the last chance to join the first group leaving."

Kirk didn't reply as he was still staring at the wall with a frown on his face. Spock narrowed his eyes at him. "The Captain won't go with that group. Make sure Khan does not go until the Captain can go with him," he told the nurse offhandedly, not taking his eyes off Kirk.

The nurse looked between the two men before nodding and walking away. Spock and Bones ignored him as they waited for Kirk to notice them.

Bones shifted impatiently before snapping his fingers in front of Kirk's nose. "Earth to Jim! Jim! What on Earth are you thinking about?"

Kirk just blinked a few times before turning to Spock. "Khan will have to stand trial in a court martial, right?"

Spock raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Bones. "Yes."

"How do I become Khan's defendant?"


End file.
